Box Office Challenge

This weekend sees three new wide releases at the box office, none of them particularly Pavlovian in the hype department…

I’m personally the most excited about Straw Dogs, due in great part to my adoration of Kate Bosworth, but I doubt it will sell too many tickets. I was shocked by the absence of Bosworth from the film’s primary movie poster — that’s an epic fail. Yes, this is a remake, but James Marsden is no Dustin Hoffman, and though it might be considered an homage, what they’ve mimicked from the original movie poster, ugh, I just don’t see what they were thinking. This poster might be the least marketable piece of marketing I’ve seen all year. If I’d been on that team of flailing marketeers, I can tell you, Bosworth’s beautiful face would have been the centerpiece of my Donald Draper pitch. At least the team behind the film’s trailer knew what they were doing, giving Bosworth ample screen time, and jogging no less. Agh, what I wouldn’t pay to go for a 26-mile jog with Kate Bosworth.

The other two releases this weekend, I’m much less interested in…

We’ve got Ryan Gosling racing around in cars in Drive, and we’ve got the washed up Sarah Jessica Parker’s latest rom-com: I’m Not Sure How She Does It (I got bored just reading the title of this one). I’m Not Sure How She Does It boasts the company of Pierce Brosnan and Kelsey Grammer, but all this does is make me pine for non-Craig Bond and a Frasier reunion.

I imagine Straw Dogs will probably fail to sell many tickets to females, as that demographic will be far too busy with these other two films — the many fans of The Notebook (or more to the point, of Ryan Gosling) will be in line for Drive, and the many fans of Sex and the City will be in line for I Don’t Know How She Does It. Lord, I’m tired of typing that title.

Each week Calhoun Kersten and Aaron Ruffcorn go head to head in a Box Office Challenge.Who will win?
Maybe you.
Calhoun will be back Monday with the Box Office Review. Tune in to find out who wins.

We’ll take a look at the box office and see if we can’t nail the Number 1 film in the U.S.
Whoever is closest, wins. But really, if they aren’t within $2 million, it’s not very impressive.

It’s harder than you think. If you don’t believe, let’s see what your answers are.

Calhoun Kersten’s prediction for the weekend of September 16-18 …

1. Drive ($23 Million)

Aaron Ruffcorn’s prediction for the weekend of September 16-18 …

1. Contagion ($14 Million)

So what’s your guess for the Number 1 movie at the box office this weekend?